HDACs are zinc metalloenzymes that catalyse the hydrolysis of acetylated lysine residues. In histones, this returns lysines to their protonated state and is a global mechanism of eukaryotic transcriptional control, resulting in tight packaging of DNA in the nucleosome. Additionally, reversible lysine acetylation is an important regulatory process for non-histone proteins. Thus, compounds which are able to modulate HDAC have important therapeutic potential.
WO2010/086646 discloses compounds which act as inhibitors of HDAC. The heteroaryl capping groups and the zinc-binding groups are joined via an alkylene linker.